As a combat Vietnam veteran, my view on the women in combat question might be a little lopsided. It's all fine and dandy on paper. I'm all for women's rights and equality of the sexes. But in reality, it sounds like a logistical nightmare. Just in keeping peace within the company ranks would make the company commander more like a peacemaker walking on eggshells in order not to violate any moral ethics involved. Not to mention separation of the sexes when it comes to your everyday routines, bathing, sleeping, etc.

I have trouble visualizing women tunnel rats, machine-gunners, snipers, going on search and destroy missions, wading in waist-high rice paddies while trying to avoid trip wires, carting of the dead and such.

War is hell, literally. It is not a pretty sight. You have to numb your emotions and realize that it's a kill-or-be-killed situation. It would take an exceptional woman to handle not only the physical part, but also the emotional part of it.

-- NOEL O. HINOJOSA, Grandview